UPDATE: CHL weapons could be interchangeable

CLARIFICATION: In a previous post on this blog, the current concealed handgun license law was misconstrued. Under current law, someone who qualifies with a semi-automatic weapon can carry either a revolver or a semi-automatic gun. A person who qualifies for their license with a revolver can only legally carry a revolver. A proposal that’s on its way to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk would allow a licensee to qualify with either weapon and carry either weapon.

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Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, has a problem: although he’s licensed to shoot semi-automatic weapons, he just gave his last semi-automatic gun away. And, under current law, since he tested with a semi-automatic gun, his concealed handgun license doesn’t apply to his many revolvers.

Amendment to HB 3142 makes it easier for Texans to shoot their eyes out.

“But I’m not proposing this for me,” Estes said after the Texas Senate passed House Bill 3142 late Tuesday. “It’s the same principals of marksmanship, and they should be interchangeable.”

The bill would allow licensees to use either weapon during their marksmanship tests, Estes said, and to then be licensed on both. Although the house already approved the bill, Estes added an amendment – originally Senate Bill 1400 – that representatives now need to concur on before the proposal goes to Gov. Rick Perry for approval. It protects the gun rights of the state’s younger population, it appears.

“The amendment says that a city can’t forbid you to possess an airgun,” Estes said. “A kid ought to be allowed to own a Red Ryder BB gun, and the city shouldn’t be preventing it.”

He said that most cities still prohibit firing an airgun inside city limits, but they would be lawful to possess under the amendment.